


Tinder Catfish AU

by DevoTea



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Chatting & Messaging, F/M, Long-Distance Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-11-01 21:03:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17874815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DevoTea/pseuds/DevoTea
Summary: Read to find out because I totally suck at writing summaries (tbh I'm too lazy to write it again bc the first one deleted)Its basically some backstory to the fluff I wanted to write, but the timeline in my head ended up not being all fluff.Anyway, the title is really all you need to know really.





	1. Chapter 1

"Hey Al, look at this." I shoved my phone in front of Alya's. "Why are you showing me a picture of Adrien Agreste? Yeah, I mean the guy's attractive, but you know I've only got eyes for Nino." She responded.

"Yeah, but this is Tinder, Alya. The guy's definitely a catfish." I retorted."So? What do you want me to do report him to the Tinder devs?" She asked back. Then her eyes lit up like a kid's on Christmas Day. "I have an idea, give me your phone." She demanded.

"Sorry, no can do, after the last time you had that glint in your eyes you are not getting even in the proximity of my pho-" As I was rambling she took the mobile out of my hands. There was no taking it back now. "What are you doing?" I felt defeated. Honestly, I can't even keep my best friend away from my phone.

"I'm swiping right. I want to see what the guy says." She grinned maliciously. "Honestly, I was kind of expecting it. I just hope we don't match." As I said that my phone chimed. "I jinxed it, didn't I?" I added.

"Hey, at least now I'll see what he has to say." Alya responded, completely dropping whatever she was working on on her phone.

**Adrien : Hi**

**Marinette : Don't 'Hi' me, Mr. Catfish**

**Adrien : There's no point convincing you I'm actually Adrien, is there?**

**Marinette : Nope.**

**Adrien : Well then, why did you swipe right?**

"Oh, I'm going to tell you why I swiped right you lying catfi-" She started typing furiously on my keyboard. "Okay, Alya, I'm taking my phone back, because you're way too aggressive to this guy." I plucked the device from her hands and started deleting the message without even reading her key rampage.

**Marinette : Curiosity**

**Adrien : Curiosity killed the cat**

**Marinette : But satisfaction brought it back**

**Adrien : I see we're familiar with the whole saying**

**Marinette : We are, now tell me, why are you using a French model's photos as your profile pictures?**

I exited the messaging window and clicked on his profile

Adrien, 22, Male,  
Hey, swipe to see a picture of my cat, he may look like a purrfectly normal cat, but I'm not kitten when I say that he can be impawsible sometimes. Not messaging me would be catastrophic.

My gosh. What did Alya get me into? I looked at my bestie sitting next to me, typing away on her phone. I looked back at my phone to see a response from Fakedrien.

**Adrien : Would you believe me if I said I had blonde hair, green eyes and so devilishly handsome that I could pass as a lookalike?**

**Marinette : Not a chance, kitty**

**Adrien : A nickname, I like it**

**Marinette : I had no choice, it was either that or** **Fakedrien** **, and my autocorrect keeps wanting to correct that**

**Adrien : I'm hoping it sticks**

**Marinette : Still haven't answered the question**

**Adrien : What if I said that I had no friends and had to figure something out?**

**Marinette : With all the puns in your bio, I wouldn't be surprised**

**Marinette : Hey, that's sad, but you know, Tinder's not the best place for friends, unless you're looking for special friends**

**Adrien : I'm well aware,** **m'lady**

**Marinette : Oh no, you're one of those guys, aren't you?**

**Adrien : I've been labelled a gentleman before**

**Marinette :** **M'Kay** **then, I'm leaving**

**Adrien : Wait, I'm kitten**

**Marinette : I'm not sure if that's supposed to make me stay or** **repel** **me even more**

He stopped writing after that. Honestly I was expecting a cheeky reply of some sort. Maybe he got held up by something. I'm not the only one with a life. If a life being 21 years old, still living with your parents and in your second year of university. Currently sprawled out on your chaise with your best friend.

"Hey, Al, do you think we should talk?" I asked, staring at the ceiling, me phone lay on my stomach. "Oh you, finished browsing?" She questioned, slightly sitting up. "Yeah, he stopped texting." I replied. "Wait you were talking to the catfish guy the whole time?" She raised a brow.

"Umm, yeah, it just happened" I shrugged. "M, it's been thirty minutes" She deadpanned. I checked the time. Indeed, it had been half an hour later than last time I checked. "So, how have you and Nino been?"

\---

**Adrien : Sorry for leaving so abruptly last night, had to go**

**Marinette : Oh hey, I didn't think you'd write**

**Adrien : Well I did, and I would like to present you with my snapchat handle :** **snapchatnoir**

**Marinette : omg, did you have to pun it?**

**Adrien : I'm afraid so** **m'lady**

**Adrien : So, could you add me?** **Plagg's** **found the weirdest sleeping position yet, and I want to send you a picture**

I closed the app and went onto my snapchat. I opened it up, and typed the username into the search engine. Well, the worst case scenario, I could block him.

I saw him add me back and it wasn't a minute later that I saw the "Chat Noir sent you a snap!" notification pop up.

I opened the snap. It was if a cat with short black fur. He was showcasing a green collar with the way he slept. On his back, head tilted backwards, back legs perched on a pillow.

The caption was "Someone had too much catkin today, how did he get so spoiled?" I chuckled as I read it.

I lifted my head towards the cage where my hamster was. Tikki was a cute little red hamster with a black splotches of fur in some places, like her belly, her year, her tail, her back, you know just they were there. I walked over to her cage to see her also sleeping. She fit all of herself in her bowl and was curled up on top of her food. Her head looked abnormally large, probably because her cheeks were stuffed with food. I snapped a photo and captioned it "Neither do I, Tikki is just on a eat-sleep cycle that I have no idea how she got into". I giggled as I sent the message. To be honest, Tikki's been with me for almost four months and I already stopped appreciating her. She just became a constant in my life, but really, she is the cutest.

I made a mental note to give her some extra nuts and head pets once she woke up. She deserved it.

I received a message from Chat on snapchat.

Chat Noir  
You have a hamster

 

 

 

You  
Yeah, what about it?

  
Chat Noir  
So I'm guessing you're not a cat person

 

 

 

You  
Actually, I am

  
Chat Noir  
But you don't have one, do your parents not want a cat?

 

 

 

You  
Bold of you to assume I'm still living with them

  
Chat  
Am I wrong?

 

 

 

You  
No  
I'm a cat person, but I'm also a dog person I couldn't decide which one to get so I got a hamster

  
Chat Noir  
I see

That's how the conversation ended. It was quiet for a while. I refilled Tikki's water bottle and her dry food. She trotted over to the bottle and started drinking. It always made this slight clinking sound when she drank because she bites the metal part with her teeth each time. I wish I could explain to her that she could simply roll the ball with her tongue.

I sat down and worked on some designs for my studies. I was in my second year so I was halfway done with my degree.

I was just tying off the thread into a knot when my phone chimed. "There's no use rushing" I told myself. Chat could wait a bit. I finished the knots and snipped off the excess thread at the end. I put the piece down and walked over to my phone laying on the bed.

I sat down and opened the notifications. "BGF 🦊😘💕 sent you a snap!" I immediately opened the app. Why did I think it would be Chat in the first place. That must be because Alya's been busy lately with her reporting job she got recently. I am happy for her, it's just that between her work hours and spending time with Nino, it's been hard to get a hold of her for girls night lately.

I clicked on the red square in the same line as her name and looked at the snap. "M you on later for movie night?" The snap read and behind it was Alya with a questioning expression and a slight smile.

 

 

 

You  
Yeah sure  
What are we watching?

  
BGF 🦊😘💕  
Aquaman

 

 

 

You  
You know it's not on Netflix right?

  
BGF 🦊😘💕  
Ofc I know Mari  
I'm getting you out of the house to the cinema

 

 

 

You  
K  
You sure you'll be ok w/o screaming at the screen?

  
BGF 🦊😘💕  
I've heard the movie's pretty good so fingers crossed I won't feel the need to

 

 

 

You  
I hope for the sake of your sanity and mine that that's the case  
What time?

  
BGF 🦊😘💕  
6:15

 

 

 

You  
I hoped you got subbed

  
BGF 🦊😘💕  
Is that a test to check if I was abducted by aliens?

I arrived there a bit later than 6:15. "I see that some things never change" She shook her hard with a smile. "The movie actually starts at 6:20, I figured you'd be late" She checked her phone. I checked mine, 6:25.

"Nobody wants to watch the ads anyway." I made a waving motion with my hand and walked past her to the door. I opened it and waited for her to go in. "And I thought chivalry was dead." Alya laughed and I laughed with her.

"Your mother cared deeply about you" Vulko said on screen. "He's Atlanna" I whispered to Alya and she nodded back. Look at that soft expression if that's not a mother's love then I don't know what is.

"My mother's dead, your people killed her" I leaned over to Alya. "What if the deep dwellers are actually intelligent and they discovered how to shape-shift so now they can look like the monsters? " I suggested and she looked at me. "And that's how Atlanna learned how to change into Vulko." She added and I nodded in agreement.

We left the theatre feeling weird. "Tbh I thought he would be a literal starfish when he called him that" I commented. "Same, kind of hoped they would have just a starfish as a secondary character." She replied.

"I kind of prefer your version of the story." she confessed with a sigh. "Tell me about it, I got stoked for a plot twist and there was none." I replied.

"The fight scene at the end was cool though" She added. "Yeah, I never thought I'd say it, but I was rooting for the crab people." We both burst out laughing.

"I missed hanging out with you like this, Al." I told her and she turned to look at me. "Me too, M. Girls night at your place next Saturday?" She suggested and I nodded.

When I came home my phone connected to the WiFi and my phone chimed with notifications. I had multiple snaps from Chat on my phone. I clicked on the red icon and checked them.

"Plagg just ate some cheese with catnip and now he's purring, I'm a proud cat dad" It was a video of the cat from before purring while a hand is petting him on the hand. The video looped and the soft helicopter-like sound could be heard again. It was the first time I've actually heard a cat purr. It was different from Andy other sound I've herd, but still,  
well...underwhelming.

The hand petting the cat was tanned and overall looked well taken care of. It looked young which made me less nervous about talking to Chat. I haven't thought about it that much before, but he could have been some creepy old dude. A chill travelled down my spine.

By the maybe tenth repetition of the video, I noticed a slight chuckle behind the camera. It was light, airy breathy. Just a normal chuckle, but It was still a reminder that there was a person behind the screen, behind the messages.

I was brought back to life when another chuckle ended the video that once again looped. I clicked on a video to go to yet another loop. It was Plagg on his side purring while the same hand scratches him under the chin, behind the ears and down the back. This time the video played fully only once before I skipped to the next one.

It was a still snap of Plagg, but now he was looking upwards with kitty eyes. The cation read "Are you mad at me? Even Plagg wants you to respond 😿" and then there was a second bar of text under it "(no he doesn't, he's begging for more cheese but if he eats too much he'll get sick)"

 

 

 

You  
I'm not mad  
I was out with a friend  
I have a life  
Sorry not sorry, Chat

  
The time in between was peaceful, silence accompanied my the soft crunching sounds of Tikki's bedding. I closed my eyes and just relaxed. With the project finished, for once I had everything done for the weekend. It was nice not having any impending duties on my checklist. I could go for a walk the next day. Down des Champs-Élysées and admire the new collections through the glass, like window-inspiration-shopping. Maybe walk down to that one fabric shops and just browse the variety of fabrics, see if anything sparks any ideas.

Chat Noir  
Did you have fun?

 

 

 

You  
Yeah I did  
The movie was ok I guess

  
Chat Noir  
Oh what movie?

 

 

 

You  
Aquaman

  
Chat Noir  
Oh, is that what the DC in your handle means?

 

 

 

You  
No, those are my initials  
Good guess tho

  
Chat Noir  
Marinette Detroit Comics  
Has a good ring to it I have to say 😽  
They really should add a winking cat emoji, but that one will do  
I've seen Aquaman, it was a pretty good movie, why do you think it was meh?

I snickered, the way in which he puts some things was really strange.

 

 

 

You  
I did not say it was 'meh'  
I just  
While watching it I had this plot that I wanted it to be, but that wasn't the one they went with and I felt disappointed, because I liked mine better

  
Chat Noir  
You have my full attention, my lady  
Care to share your version of the story with this cat?

 

 

 

You  
Well, if you really want to hear it...

  
I started writing the plot when a message came in from him.

Chat Noir  
I do

I don't know why, but it made me stop for a second. It showed that he actually cared. He could have just waited for me to write it out, but he felt that he should assure me of his interest. It was...sweet.

 

 

 

You  
We have the beginning it's all the same, Arthur's born, Vulko teaches him, but I thought that he was actually his mother in disguise. In my head Atlanna was him and she watched over her second son as his advisor and taught her first-born in the meantime, because she cared.  
Then I figured that the Trench were actually the most intelligent beings in the ocean and learned how to shape shift, so when Atlanna was sacrificed to them, they actually taught her their craft. And that's how she became Vulko and came back.  
My bestie also suggested that Atlanna should have returned to her lover on that crab beast, but I'm not sure if that made it into my fanon. I think the poor man would have a heart attack.  
I mean yeah, he saw the soldiers at the begining of the movie but I feel like they were much smaller and easier to take in.  
Besides, that happened years prior.

  
Chat Noir  
Wow  
Yeah  
I mean  
That would make sense  
I saw the soft looks he gave him and he talked about his mother like he knew her well, so at the end I felt that sth was missing  
Yeah  
You've converted me  
The movie was ok,  
But yours is better

 

 

 

You  
Kitty, flattery will get you nowhere

  
Chat Noir  
I beg to differ

 

 

 

You  
Care to explain?

  
Chat Noir  
You're still talking to me

 

 

 

You  
And I'm about to stop

  
Chat Noir  
No  
Wait

I closed the messaging window and then tabbed out of snapchat. I'll leave him alone for a few minutes. I put down my phone on my desk and looked out of the window. It was pitch black out. My reflection looked back at me. She was smiling. I checked myself, I was smiling. Well, that's how it is when the conversation is entertaining, isn't it?

I shifted my gaze towards the mannequin with my project from earlier. It looked fine now, I just hoped I wouldn't hate how it looked when I woke up the next day. I'd already made a plan for tomorrow, it'd be a shame to rid myself of a nice walk.

After a few minutes of silence my phone chimed again. I picked it up and looked at the notification. That was a lot of messages from Chat.

Chat Noir  
No  
Wait  
Please  
Mari  
OK, you left  
How am I supposed to go on like this?  
I can't talk to myself  
But I could act like I'm talking to Plagg  
Nah  
Scratch that  
(Hey, that was a good one)  
OK then, you're not responding  
I'm just here beating noobs in UMS IV online

I read all the messages and put the phone down. I walked over to my console and plugged in UMS IV. I took out my controller and made sure it was charged. Then I switched it for my phone.

 

 

 

You  
Really?  
Let me know when you are finished with your match so I can kick your butt

  
The response came in around two minutes later.

Chat Noir  
You know I got into a match and then my phones lights up bc you replied  
I was so thrown off my enemy got my hp down to 75%  
But yeah, I'm free now  
Let's see how good you are  
What username should I search?

 

 

 

You  
LadyLuck

  
Chat Noir  
Fitting

Then a friend request popped up in the gamechat, no pun intended. Oh god, the pun from earlier. I actually chuckled at that one, but I would never tell him or it would boost his ego. "Mechat sent you a friend request" I toggled the joystick and pressed on the tick option.

He then sent me a match request which I also accepted. Then when the CHampion selected opened I went over to select my favourite hero, the ladybug themed one. I had her combos on point. Before I could press select another notification popped up. "Mechat joined the match chat." Then another immediately afterwards. "Mechat invited you to join the match chat."

I stood up to go and fetch my gaming headphones. They had a built in mic so the quality would be on point. It's not as loud as some of the other microphones, but it's good quality nonetheless. I put them on, connected them to the console and joined the match chat.

"Woah, you actually joined" A voice sounded out through my ears. "I wouldn't miss the chance to hear your reaction after you lose" I countered and tried not to think that his voice sounded really nice, it wasn't deep or husky or anything attractive per sé. He just had a nice voice; light, warm, soft. He felt young. "To be honest I wasn't expecting this, nor was I expecting your mic quality to be this good" He chuckled. "Yeah, I mean I feel like you want your teammates to know what you're saying when you're in teamspeak. Communication is pretty important." I chuckled back.

"Hey, what mic are you using actually? I need to check it out." He said and I selected my character. "Razer Kraken" I replied and at that moment he selected over the cat hero he had been hovering over this whole time."Quartz Edition" I added and heard a laugh from the other side. "What's so funny?" I asked him, confused. "Okay, it's definitely you." He said in between laughing, his laughed sounded melodious and rang through my ears. "What's that supposed to mean?" I questioned, to be honest I felt almost offended. "Just that the girl I swiped right on had the colour pink listed as her favourite colour and her interests as drawing and fashion and then I find out you watch DC and play video games." He explained. "Oh, yeah that. I didn't want guys swiping right on me just because I play video games, there's more to me than that." I elaborated.

The match countdown started. "3, 2, 1, FIGHT!" and we started. He was pretty good, but in my opinion he was lacking finesse. Comparing myself to him, I think I'm better at stacking combos. After about one minute of fighting my screen said "VICTORY". I waited for a response. "Wow, yeah, you're good." He said breathlessly. I laughed at that. "Just good?" I retorted with a smile. "Ah, forgive me for the understatement, m'lady. You are the greatest player that has graced this gaming platform, fair maiden or not." He acted it out dramatically. "I did win a tournament or two." I smiled and glanced at my nails nonchalantly, even though he couldn't see it. "Really? Which one?" He asked, but he sounded more excited than suspicious. "Oh, me and my friend Max played in a doubles tournament in middle school." I replied. "That's cool. I didn't go to a public school." He said with a hint of sadness. "Private?" I inquired. "Homeschooled, not the best influence on my social skills." He replied.

"Hey, I think you turned out great." I tried to reassure him. "Thank you, I'm feline much better now." He said with an apparent smirk in his tone. I rolled my eyes. "Oh my gosh, you pun in real life too? I take back my statement." I tried to hold back a giggle. "What a claw-ful thing to say. All my puns are purrfect, each and every one. You should consider yourself fur-tunate to hear them." The puns started spilling like a waterfall and I groaned from the sheer amount of comedy.

"God you are insufferable , stop it or I'll pull on your whiskers." I threatened him. "Oh, lady has claws. Purrhaps we should start another match." He picked his character and I picked mine, and so, another match had begun.

"Do you always pick the ladybug one?" He asked as soon as we got to the actual game. "Do you always pick the cat one?" I answered with a question. "Touché." He replied with a chuckle. 

One controller battery later.

"Chat, my battery's down and I should get to sleep, it's really late." I yawned afterwards. "What do you mean? It's only-" He stopped himself short. "You live in France?" He asked. And I nodded, then I realised he couldn't see me. "Yeah, I do." I replied. "Different time zones." I added, uderstanding the sitguation. "Yeah." He replied. "How could you tell?" I asked him and he made a 'hmm?' sound in response. "That I'm French." I clarified. "Oh, that. The way you say 'Chat'." He replied. "Wait, but I thought you lived in France, your snapchat handle is a french pun." I added.

"It's not really a fair assumption, but, yeah, Paris is my home. Right now I'm studying abroad though." He explained. "Hey, I'm also from Paris. Where are you studying?" I asked him, I've never travelled outside of France. "The US, Berkeley University." He replied. "What's your major? How is it in America? Are your fast-food drinking cups really twice our size?" I started throwing questions at him, excited to have a friend abroad. He laughed at that once again. "Mari, could you do something fur me?" He said after he quieted his laughter. I made a 'mhm' sound in response. "Go to sleep, we can talk when you wake up." He said and I sensed he was smiling. "You're right. Good night, I mean have a nice day?" I substituted. "Goodnight Mari." He ended.  
By which I mean he left the match chat. I also disconnected and turned off the console. I got all the stuff I needed ready and headed to the bathroom. After I finished my night skincare routine I looked at myself in the mirror. I was smiling, tomorrow was going to be a great day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys I'm sorry for the wait. I had this chapter written like 1/3 of the way then all I had decided to delete itself. I'm sorry, I should have had a copy. It put me off my game for a while. I eventually rewrote the whole beginning, but the I had no motivation to continue it, because life's been hectic. Anyway, I'm sorry once again and I hope you enjoy!

Yellow. White. Orange. The colours shifted before my eyes. I pried my eyes open into slits. Once the sunlight made contact they instinctively shut closed again. I groaned from the harsh light and buried my face in my pillow. _Do I have to get up? What day is it? Sunday. Ok, I'm good to stay in here._

I laid in bed like this for a while. I could tell you how long it had been because my eyes were closed. Once I became aware of my surroundings I knew I was fully awake. Well I wasn't fully functioning yet but I was too awake to go back to sleep anymore.

I slowly opened my eyes once again and checked the time. "8.03 AM" It was still early. I opened snapchat on my phone and pressed Chat's username. His profile popped up and I hovered my thumb over the call button. I decided not to think too much about it and clicked on it.

With my phone next to my ear, I listened to the beeps. Each one brought me more anxiety. Maybe it wasn't the best idea after all. Before I could hang up the sound stopped. I wanted to greet him, but my body wanted to yawn. In the end "Hey" I yawned. "Hey sleepyhead" He chuckled. All of my worries dissipated away once I heard the slight lilt to his voice. "Can we talk now?" I questioned. "Yeah, we can." He responded in a warm tone. Though now that my thoughts cleared I could tell he sounded a bit tired. "What time is it for you?" I asked him. "Eleven" was his reply. "AM?" "PM" he clarified. "Chat, it's too late for you. Go get your beauty sleep and call me when you wake up." I instructed. "Okay, have a nice day." He replied, a smile evident in his voice. "Goodnight, Chat." I hung up this time.

I laid on my back with my phone on my chest. I planned on going out today, didn't I? I got up or rather got down, because I had to climb down the ladder. I went downstairs to the bakery.

"Good morning maman, papa!" I greeted them. "Good morning sweetie. You sure are up early." My mother replied with a smile. I kissed my parents on the cheeks. "And you are smiling a whole lot more than usual? We're you out with a boy yesterday?" My dad joked. "Papa, you know I was out with Alya." I replied. "I don't know, do I really?" He wiggled his brows and I shook my head.

I grabbed a fresh croissant and put it on a plate. I took it upstairs and set it on the kitchen counter. I snapped a picture and captioned it "Best croissants in the whole world 🥐💕". I selected Chat and Alya to send it to. I hopped onto the stool and took a bit out of the croissant. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, just how it should be.

Just as I had a few bites of it left my mom entered the room with a cup of steaming liquid. "How are you?" She asked warmly, putting down the cup next to my plate. "I'm good, I finished my project, I slept really well. How about you?" I asked her back. "Oh, I'm fine. The bakery is doing fine and my daughter is excelling in her studies. My marriage is great, I would even say I'm thriving." she laughed a bit. I chuckled at her response. "So, any plans for today?" She asked me with a kind smile. "Actually I do. I planned on going out for inspiration, walk around, visit some shops." I told her my plans.

"Do you want me to come with you?" She inquired and I shook my head. "No, I think I need to get some 'me' time in." I explained and she smiled back. "Okay, have fun." She kissed me on the forehead. "I love you" I smiled back at her. "I love you too" she replied and left for the bakery I presume.

I finished off the rest of my croissant and took a sip from the cup. Tea. Green tea if I'm being exact. Tasted good. I finished the warm drink and then put the dishes into the dishwasher. I went to the bathroom and followed all the steps to my morning skincare routine. I returned to my room and opened my wardrobe.

After I, was done picking the outfit, what I ended up with were a top and pants. I put on the pale pink mock neck balloon-sleeved sweater. I had embroidered a floral pattern with white thread. It started from the collar and ended in a triangle around the bust area, which had the effect of a faux v-neckline. I paired it with white high-waisted straight leg jeans. I finished the outfit off with pearl jewellery, after all it was going to be in fashion this spring, might as well start bringing the trends out early. The accessories consisted of a basic pearl bracelet and a pair of pearl studs.

I brushed my hair out and stared at the mirror. My hair was still the way I preferred it, at shoulder length. I tied it back into a low bun at the nape of my neck. I hid the black hairband with a baby pink ribbon and tied it into a bow, the ends flowing from under the bun.

I pinned my hair up with a hair clip and started doing my makeup. I put on another layer of moisturiser. I opened my BB cream with spf 50 and worked it into my skin with my fingers. I dotted some concealer under my eyes and blended it out with my right ring finger. I did some light contour under the cheekbones and on my temples. Then I added blush on top of the apples of my cheeks and on my nose.

I did a simple eye look. Light pink eyeshadow on the lid and a light mauvey brown as a transition shade. I put dark grey on my upper lashline and smudged it out. I brushed out my eyebrows and filled in the more sparce areas. The last step was highlighting, on my cheekbones, nose, inner corner and browbone. I finished everything off with a spritz of setting spray and helped the drying process by using a fan.

I went back downstairs and looked at the shoes. Usually I would match them with my accessories. The pearls are pretty neutral, but the bag... Wait. What bag am I taking? I forgot a bag.

I skipped back the two floors and looked at my shoes. I tried my bag collection in front of a full-length mirror. Eventually I chose my Drew Chloè bag in cement pink. I got it from my grandma. I wanted to talk her into returning it because I knew how much those cost. She reassured me that she got it from a vintage store in Tokyo and that the prices were considerably lower. I accepted her gift afterwards and hoped she was telling the truth and didn't just lie to ease my mind.

I went downstairs with all the things I needed already packed. My wallet, ID, sketchbook, pencil, sharpener, kneaded eraser, phone and white wired headphones were all there. I stopped before the shoe rack and pondered my choices.

White sneakers? Comfy, but don't go well with the outfit. The espadrilles, not really the vibe I'm going for today. My Mary Jane pumps, the black nor the tan ones match today. I settled for my well-worn pale pink ballet flats.

I put on my favourite long coat. It was made of a light cool tone brown wool and cashmere blend. The peak lapels suited me, even though at first I hadn't thought they would.

I entered the bakery and bid my parents goodbye by kissing them both on the cheeks. Once I opened the door I was greeted by the winter sun. A stronger breeze blew past and I buttoned my coat. It was times like these that I appreciated the fact it was double-breasted; it really made it convenient for the colder months.

I got off from the metro at my first stop : Franklin D. Roosevelt, which left me at the beginning of Avenue Montaigne. I walked all the way down to the Seine, stopping at the windowsills of Gucci, Ralph, the two Gabriel stores across from each other. Then Loro, Christian, Nina, Louis, Prada, Valentino. I admired the compositions showcasing all the luxury goods. I made rough sketches if I saw anything that gave me inspiration.  
I ended up drawing a lot, because the new spring collections were just up my alley. The aesthetic of pinks and taupes adorned with flowers, pearls and bows filled my vision and I felt like I was in fashion heaven.

All of them were just opening up and I could see employees inside tending to all the goods inside, making sure everything was to the highest standard. After all their target consumer wasn't easy to please.

I arrived at the Pont de l'Alma and decided to take a left turn just before reaching it. I walked down the riverside. The bark on my left and la Seine on my right. The weather was beautiful, so it was actually great for a walk.

I got onto a bus at the nearest stop and got off before Jardin des Tuileries. I walked the whole length of it. It was busy as always. Friends hanging out, tourist admiring the view and taking pictures, and there was me, alone. I smiled at the thought, you would think I felt lonely, but it really was relaxing to just be with myself, even though I was surrounded by a crowd.

I took a left into Rue Saint Honoré where all my favourite boutiques were. I ended up purchasing a few things. My memory still went back to a black satiny material that I had seen in one of the fabric shops. It reminded me of Chat. I had the specifications of it written on my phone for future reference.

 I sat on a stair and brought out my sketchbook. Only when I sat down did I feel how tired I was. I felt like I could go twice the distance I already had if I didn't stop. For now I had to rest, and what better way to do so than refining my previous sketches. I went page after page erasing the structures and drawing in the details.

 I arrived at the last page. A fedora with cat ears. It was so Chat with his cat puns and "m'lady"s. I just couldn't decide whether I liked it plain or heavily decorated. A lot of ornaments would suit his being extra. At the same time, it would be less practical for everyday use if I left it just plain black. 

I closed my sketchbook out of lack of decisiveness and stood up. I took a few steps forward and felt my sore feet. _Okay, I'm going home._ And that's exactly what I did. I go to the nearest bus stop and returned to the bakery.

I walked in through the front door and the bell chimed. "Welcome back sweetie, how was the trip?" My mom asked me after she finished serving a customer.

"It was great." I replied walking past her. I left my coat and bag in the back and put on an apron. "Okay, you can go start lunch, I'll take care of the register." I told her and we switched places. "Thanks sweetie." She left after leaving a kiss on my forehead. I took care of serving costumers until the lunch break, which was about three hours after which we opened the bakery for another few in the afternoon.

After we were finished eating lunch at the table I retired to my room. Just as I plopped down on the chaise my phone rang. I raised it up to my eye level to see who was calling. It was Chat on Snapchat. Putting the phone to my ear I answered the call.

"Hey" His voice sounded a bit hoarse. "Good morning sleeping beauty" I giggled. "Well, someone's certainly in a better mood." I heard some rustling of fabric on the other end. "I am, so are you all rested now?" I smiled to myself. "Yeah, so what, are we playing 20 questions?" He joked. "I would say it's going to be more of an interrogation." I joked back. "Nu-uh, Princess, you can't hold all the cards." He chuckled. "Princess? I though you were Sleeping Beauty." I retorted. "Excuse me, I can be Aurora just fine, but it would be frowned upon if I were to speak with commoners, therefore you are royalty as well, ma chérie." I snorted at his response.

"Well then, Your Highness, to what do I owe the pleasure?" I played along. "I believe that would be to your impeccable taste in Tinder matches. What shall be the _subject_ of our discussions today?" He quickly added the question after his first sentence. If he didn't accentuate the pun I would have noticed it was there.

"Would you say your head is big, small or medium?" I questioned and I heard a clearly surprised sound through the phone. "You know when you called I thought you wanted to talk shop." He laughed, clearly amused. "So are you going to answer or-" "Yeah, I don't know whether you wound consider 57 centimetres circumference medium or big, I've heard both." He said nonchalantly. It was my turn to laugh. "You just know it off the top of your head?" I asked. "Was that a pun?" I heard his grin through the phone. "I can neither confirm nor deny." I smiled back. "I'll let you know I wear my fair share of hats for my job, that's how I know." He added. "What do you do?" I inquired. "Ah-ha, Princess, it's my turn to ask. Besides that's something I'd rather share with you some day in the future." He explained.

"Okay, ask away then." I replied. "What are you studying?" He asked and quickly corrected himself : "You are a student, right?" "I'll forgive you for asking two questions at once and only answer the first one. I study fashion design." I answered. "Oh that would explain knowing the French model part." He commented.

"I actually met him." I added. "Wait really?" He sounded excited. "I mean, not like I know him ore anything, but he did model one of my designs." I boasted a bit. "Hey, that's amazing, what was it?" He really sounded interested. "A bowler hat. I won Gabriel Agreste's competition in lycée and he got to model my designs. It was inspired by pigeons." I described it and I heard him shudder. "What's wrong?" I asked. "Nothing, I'm allergic to feathers." He explained.

"Oh, Adrien was allergic to feathers too, Gabriel's assistant, Nathalie told me that because ai had incorporated a real feather in my design, I ended up making a synthetic one so there wouldn't be any problems on the runway." I told him the story.

"Didn't want any _cat_ astrophes on the _cat_ walk, huh?" He snickered through the phone. "Yeah, I did not, still don't. Bottom line is I don't think he even remembers my name so I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you, Chat." I told him.

"Please m'lady, who cares what Adrien remembers if you've go ta lookalike that's head over heels for you." He claimed. "Chat, models are still people, and hard-working ones at that. Especially if you're a famous designer's son, and trust me, I was backstage at one of Gabriel's shows, there's a lot of pressure involved. I can't imagine dealing with that on the daily when you're fourteen." I finished my monologue about the industry I was hoping to work in. Following was a moment of silence. "But a lookalike that's head over heels for me, huh? Do I know him?" I asked innocently. "I would hope you two are acquainted, you're talking to him." He revealed.

I faked a gasp. "No! Really?" I couldn't contain my laughter while saying those words. "Maaari" He whined at my feigned ignorance. "Chaat" I mimicked his tone. "You cannot be possibly in love with me, you've known me for a few days." I reprimanded him.

"Best two days of my life might I add" He chimed in. "Duly noted, but that doesn't change the fact that you don't know me, Chat." I stated with all certainty. "It's not like I can choose what feel, but I'll try to keep the love professing to minimum. Are you okay with cheesy pick up lines though?" The last sentence had the most life in it.

"Fine, I guess I'll make do with those." I sighed with relief. I still couldn't fathom why I cared about keeping Chat in my life. I knew for sure that he was fun to be around and he was the only one I could play UMS with.

"Whose question is it now?" I changed the subject. "Since you just asked that question I'll take that as my cue." He chuckled lightly. "Would you like to be a famous designer?" He asked. "I mean, yeah, that's the dream. It's more about getting my work recognized though. I would rather people actually enjoy my work than just be famous for the sake of it." I went into more detail than maybe the question implied, but I felt like it answered more truthfully than a single 'yes'.

"Finally, I've been dying to ask you that question for days." I confessed. "Yet first you asked me about my head size." He butted in. "Shh. What's your major?" I asked.

"Physics." He sounded so happy while saying that, though I couldn't imagine why. "You sound content with that." I commented and he laughed. "That's because I am." The smile was still prevalent in his voice. "Why?" The question lefty mouth before I could stop it. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, it's just that all the people majoring in physics aren't actually that passionate about it." I corrected myself, mentally face-palming myself for my awkwardness.

"No offence taken, I understand. Physics are a difficult subject for people. Maybe because they require logical thinking." A snort escaped me at that. "Hey, don't laugh. Some people won't admit it, but it's hard for them to connect the dots when it comes to formulas. You cannot just throw the knowledge you learned before out of the window, the problems actually require you to use information from the previous topics. You cannot come up with a way to calculate a velocity or acceleration in a electrostatic field without knowing kinematics first." He rambled. "Okay, I get it. Physics is a hard subject and you're smart." I summarised.

"Well not exactly..." He started and it peaked my interest. "Well I guess I am intelligent, but that's not the reason why I chose the subject as my major. I really wanted to study something just for myself without thinking about how to apply it into the family business, and I've always found it fascinating how you could explain the way in which the world works, so... And yeah, feeling smart is an art in of itself." He ended on a pun. It took me a bit to mull his words over, but I actually saw the pun.

"Okay, you are way off your pun game, so maybe just ask your question." I waited for him to respond. "Do you ever rehearse what you are going to say before making a phone call?" He asked.

"Yeah, sometimes, if it's an important one." I answered. "Do you ever do that before our phone calls?" He inquired in a hopeful tone. "Ah-ah, Kitty, wait your turn." I chastised while using a nickname so it would be more playful than stern. He whined on the other side.

  
"What about you? Would you want to be famous?" I reused his question from earlier. "Not really. It's nice to get the recognition like you said, and being looked up to is rewarding, but I would just prefer to settle down and have a family that could have privacy. Do you get what I'm saying or is it totally stupid?" He ended.

"Yes, I mean, no. Yes, I totally get it and no, it's not unreasonable." I settled on a reply. "What would be a perfect day for you?" He asked a few seconds after getting my response. "Today. Wait, I thought you wanted to ask me something different." I backtracked a bit. "Yeah, but it's not going to change much if I know the answer to that. Now, tell me about today." He encouraged.

"Well, for starters I got to sleep in." I started. "Not much of a morning person, huh?" He commented. "Not usually. I went for a walk down Avenue Montaigne and the window displays just filled me with inspiration. The weather was beautiful, a sunny early spring day. Then I got back and ate lunch with my family. And now..." My sentence drifted off, not because I didn't know what to say, but because I knew what I wanted to say and Chat seemed to also catch on.

"And now you're talking to me. You know, I don't think I needed to ask the previous question either way." He laughed and I felt as if I could be able to hear his grin from a kilometre away.

"Okay, whatever. My turn. I'm going to ask you the same thing because I honestly had only one question I wanted to ask you, well two, but I asked you both of them already." I talked over him quieting his laughter. "My perfect day, huh?" He sounded deep in thought. "I would say just spending quality time with family." The sentence came out sad, but I wasn't sure whether I should ask him about it, so I just kept quiet. "Or staying in and watching anime." He added and I had this 'Eureka' moment. "That's why you're like this." I laughed. "Omg, this explains everything." I burst out laughing even more and I heard him join me.

"Okay, we'll see how you'll be holding up after I use my Tamaki charm on you." He challenged. "Yeah, I'll bet." I replied with a heavy dose of sarcasm. "You'll bet? Well, I'll bet you I can win you over with my flirting." He challenged further. "Okay, I say you won't. What are we betting on?" I questioned.

"If I win, you'll go on a date with me, it's only fair after you've fallen for me." He claimed and I snorted. "Okay, still I, don't know what I would want from you when I win." I shot back. "If you win. I could sponsor the fabrics and other supplies for your projects for a month." He proposed. "Two weeks, a day more and I would feel in debt." I countered. "Deal." He said in a heartbeat. "What's the time limit?" I wanted to know so I could plan my projects ahead. "Time limit? I guess you could never win if there is none." He spoke. "Until the start of the summer break?" I suggested. "Sounds like a date." He commented and I groaned at the pun.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello to your little part of the world!  
> Sorry for the long wait for the chaoter, I guess I have been getting invested in real life way too much.  
> Anyway all you need to know that this chapter is mostly a conversation between our favourite main characters.  
> Warning : May contain indiscernable amounts of fluff.  
> Enjoy!

My routine had been established. I would wake up, go to school if it was a work day and work on my designs more on the weekends. I would came back home, eat lunch with maman and papá and then go back to my room and call Chat. We would talk casually, play against each other, but recently we decided to start queuing up together in duos. It worked, us playing on the same team and our schedules. Since the US is eight hours behind my time, afternoon hours were the only ones that worked for the both of us. Especially since Chat's lectures started at ten at the earliest, which was coincidentally a perfect time for me to eat dinner with my parents. On those days when his lectures would start later maman and papá would go ahead and eat with me.

That part was actually a last minute agreement, on the first evening we played longer mamán actually came upstairs to check on me and discovered me online talking in the game chat. Once I got down for dinner later than usual I told them who I was talking with. Let's just say that papá would not me hear the end of it. Me, playing UMS with a boy, on the same team. We used to be an undefeatable duo so he got somewhat upset. He also demanded that I let him play Chat at least once so he could see if he was worthy of playing with his daughter. Well, I haven't relayed the message to Chat this far, so I can't say who would win.

Wile time passed I worked on my projects and the hat I came up with the design for now lay on a head mannequin they I had fetched from a box under my bed. It was the same one I used when making that hat for the Gabriel contest. Once I send the hat off it will go back into the same storage unit so it won't collect dust out in the open.

I stared at the piece glaring back at me. It was like it was accusing me of being a coward. "Marinette, you finished me a week ago. The touches you've added since then were unnecessary and you know it." It's aura floated toward me. No, it's unreasonable to think that. I needed to add the double lining otherwise it wouldn't be as comfortable to wear. I mean it would be pointless to make a hat that would be uncomfortable to wear. What good would it be if I made a hat if he wouldn't even wear it? I'm totally not avoiding the issue. What issue? There is no issue, never was. I definitely wasn't postponing asking Chat about his address. It just wasn't as easy as any other question, you don't just ask a person where they live, it just didn't work like that in society. Many people would find it creepy and unwelcome.

Then again we do live in different countries, continents even. It wasn't as if I would get a Visa and spend a small fortune just to stalk somebody. Though Chat has been nothing but open and considerate, if maybe a bit oversharing at times. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to ask.

My phone rang, startling me out of my thoughts which caused me to prick myself with a needle. My hand instinctively twitched away from the fabric, both out of pain and the fear I would stain the fabric of my next design project.

My gaze fell on the phone accusingly. If looks could kill, I wanted mine to burn a hole through the device. The steam let off when I saw the cat icon on the screen. I put the fabric and the needle down on the desk and answered the phone.

I opened with a 'hey' after clicking the green phone button. His response mirrored mine, but was considerably more sleepy. "Did you sleep well? " I couldn't hold back a slight chuckle. "Yeah, I was just working late last night and it's really took a toll on me I guess." His voice sounded drained. "Work? On Friday?" I inquired.

"It was a business call." He sighed. "Sounds... Important." I chose my words carefully. "Yeah, my boss likes to keep his employees..." His words drifted off. "Up all night?" I offered and received a laugh from him. It was a bit strained so I guess needed some stress relief badly. "Under control." He finished his sentence. "And he needs to control you in the evening?" I questioned.

"International call. For him it's working hours." he explained. "Doesn't he know better than to time his calls?" I asked. "If only it was that easy. His assistant calls me, and she has to do it when he wants her to." Once again he sighed in frustration.

"I get you don't really like your job?" I questioned. "I'm not particularly passionate about it." He meandered around his answer. "Then why won't you quit?" I asked, I felt quite guilty about asking so many questions and tried to cover it up. "I mean you offered to pay for a month's worth of my design supplies, you must be pretty well off, I can't imagine you needing one. It's not like I'm saying you should, but it's just that-" I started rambling and he eventually caught me off. "Marinette" He chcukled and I stopped in my tracks. "It's fine. I can't quit, family business, remeber?" He added. "Oh, right. Family business...there's  not much to be done about that." I commented and I heard an exhale on the other side. Whether it was out of relief for me not pushing the matter further, I did not know.

"Anyway since you made me do all the talking and I'm still not a 100% awake right now, haw have you been? Feels like we haven't talked in forever." I involuntarily giggled in response. "Honestly, Chat, it's been, like, a day." And no I did not giggle like a schoolgirl, It was just a soft laugh, very fitting off a ujniversity student. "M'lady, humour me. Tell me about your life, your day at least." I didn't know if he was still not totally conscious now, but he did sound like he hadn't left his bed yet.  "Fine. Life's been good. I'm managing all my projects on time. Oh, and my parents found out about you." I told him. He mad a sujrprised noise at the other end. "Found out? That's not exactly the ideal phrasing." I questioned. "Well, it wasn't an ideal situation. My papa just came in one evening into my room and hear me talking to you on teamspeak." I described the scene. "And?" He prompted. "Well, they wanted me down for dinner because I was late, so you know, like the good daughter that I am, I told you I had to go." I recollected. "Wait, when was this? I don't remember this." He asked, clearly confused.

"Oh, you know, like, a month ago." I confessed, my fingers absent-mindedly twisting a strand of hair around my fingeres. "Mari." He warned me. "I don't like it that you have a name advantage over me." I countered. "I have what now?" He chuckled. "You know my first name, but I don't know yours. It's unfair, because I have to come up with stuff to call you." I moaned grumpily. "But I think your nicknames are cute." He was clearly enjoying this more than he should. "Not the point." I defended. "Well, it's not like you ever asked." Amusement clear in his tone. "Well, I'm asking now." I shot back. "Adrien." That was his only response. "What?" I must have misheard him, clearly.

"Adrien. That's my name." He laughed slightly. "Oh no, we're not doing this again. Stop joking around." I banned his answer from my mind. He was just trying to trick me again. "Well, If you won't accept me... I'll be anything you want me to be to you m'lady." He said in such a smug voice that I wanted to punch him, or thrown a pillow in his face. "You smooth prick, stop being a flirt." He just laughed my response off. "Is dead an option? Because I feel like you're that to me right now." I added after a second. "Meowch, m'lady, your words wound me." He professed dramatically. "But I relinquished control over my body to you. Your wish is my command, m'lady. I shall off myself as soon as you voice your request." He offered in the same overdramatic fashion. I just remained silent. I was amused to say the least, not only from his tragic medieval acting skills, but the more I imagined him professing that monolougue from his bed the more I wanted to laugh.

"M'lady?" He sounded so lost bcause I was silent. Meanwhile I was barely keeping my snickers inside. The dam broke when he just murmured, it was a barely audible whisper, but I heard it "guess I'll die". I just straight our burst out laughing. Honestly I was in stiches, my stomach hurt from laughing and my eyes started watering. "Why-why did you say that?" I wheezed out between laughs and only then I noticed that he was also laughing. "It was the first thing that came to mind." He said quieting his own laughter. "A dead meme." I deadpanned. "I felt it fitting in my situation and I'll take that as pun intended, thank you very much m'lady." He grinned. I couldn't see him, but I could bet my life he was grinning like an idiot that he is.

The hat on the mannequin stared pointedly at me. Even though I knew it wasn't, because it was an inanimate object it still made me feel guilty. "Well, about your execution..." I chuckled, segwaying into what I wanted to say. He merely hummed non-commitedly in response. "I suppose there is one way to avoid it." I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. Marinette, chill, you're just asking him where he lives so you can send him a gift.

"Is that so? Well, I'm listening like my life depends on it." He joked and I wanted to facepalm. Actually I did just that, but more of a I'm-so-disappointed-with-who-I am-getting-nervous-about way. This was Chat I'm talking about. This dork is more open than a shelter. "You will get to keep your head if I get to keep your address." I finally said it. "You are _head_ strong my lady" a snicker "but I accept your conditions." He ended and once I got over that bad pun I asked : "Really?".

"Yes, really. I trust you and to be honest if you are planning on surprising me at Berkely I am not opposed to that idea in the slightest." He responed. "Actually, please do, by all means, come and visit. If you don't mind takeout that is." He added at the end. "What, kitty can't cook?" I teased him with a smile. "It's insanitary to keep cats in the kitchen." He laughed. "So, is Plagg not allowed in?" I joked. "Oh, no, he loves jumping onto the counters." He explained. "So just you then?" I smirked. "Yeah, just me." He agreed.

We sat there on the phone for a while, just comfortable silence. I still felt like it was better to break it. There was still a subject to be discussed. "Just so you know, I'm not rich enough to sponsor someone's projects for a week. With that said, I'm not visiting you, I did want to send you something." I let him know. "Really? What is it?" He sounded like an excited puppy. "It's going to be a surprise, I hope you like it though." I said before I could stop myself. That's not what I wanted to say, it just slipped out. Chat, hovewer did not disappoint with his response. "I'm sure I will if it's from you." It was a simple sentence, but it made me feel warm inside. "There is an issue though." I spoke up. "What is it?" He inquired. "Who am I supposed to address it to?" I brought it up, the same topic we were discussing just a minute before. "Just write double A." He said and my eyebrow shot up. My silence must have been questioning enough that he thought to elaborate :"My initials".

"Okay, let me just wonder for a bit just why I'm sending an Anonymous Alcoholic a gift." I laughed after managing to say the whole sentence with a straight face. Chat joined me in the laughter. "Just for the record I can handle my liquor just fine." He informed me after our laughter subsided. "I'm glad, because I'm cutting _toxic_ people out of my life." I joked. "My lady, was that a pun?" He perked up. "Talking to you must have rubbed of on me." I grumbled.

"You know, you joke like that more and you might just become my _drug_." He flirted and I rolled my eyes. " _I'm addicted to you_." He hummed the song. "Did you just quote Avicii?" I asked him ang he chuckled. "Yes, I did. He made good music, Rest In Peace." "Yeah, he did." I agreed with him. The mood got more solemn all of a sudden and I wanted to turn that around. "So, how much for you to go to rehab?" I asked and he burst out laughing. "My lady, Heaven and Hell couldn't drag me there if they tried." I imagined that if he was here with me now, shameless flirt and all, he would send me a wink. "How many people have you used that line on?" I joked. "You're asking me how many times I've been trying to flirt with someone using drug jokes?" He shot back. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm asking. You're in America, I'm sure it came up." I rebutted. "Yeah, but it's not legal in all states." He argued. "Yeah, but it is in California, and you're living there, might I add." I felt like I won the arguement. "I rest my case." I added, which elicited a laugh from Chat. " _Touché_ , m'lady. You've done your research." He surrendered and his french sounded so normal that it took me back. It was rare for him to actually use it when we were talkng, so I always forget that Chat is, in fact, French.

"You know, I used to fence." He mentioned leisurely. "Is that so?" I queried in the same manner. "I get the feeling you don't believe me." I let out a small laugh. "What can I say, chaton, you never cease to surprise me." I chuckled. "I should hope so, otherwise you'd get bored with me." He joked even though if I stripped the sentence of his tone it would sound lonely. "That's not true, I wouldn't. You don't have to lie to keep me interested." I protested, trying my best to make him understand. There was a beat of silence. "Okay." He whispered. "I'm not lying to you when I say I fenced." He asserted quietly. "What made you stop building fences?" I questioned, hopeful. I was satisfied with the bark of laughter that escaped him. "I refuse to believe you're that uncultured m'lady." He told me and I could tell that the mood was back to normal.

"Do you? Well, cosider yourself fooled because you've fallen for just a pretty face." I stated. "Though I admit I am a lovesick fool when it comes to you...Love is blind my lady, I fear that your face, as beautiful as it is, had nothing to do with it." He maintained charmantly. Honestly, it rendered me kind of speechless. Actually all kinds of speechless, because I was at a loss for what to respond with. "Cat got your tongue, m'lady?" He snickered. "You wish, kitty." I retorted, grateful for the fact that we were talking on the phone because my face was burning. "Yeah, I do." He admitted. "If you were here I'd hit you with a pillow." I told him. "If I was there I would dodge." He countered. "With your _cat-like_ reflexes?" I snorted. "Took the words right out of my mouth." He laughed softly.  "Yeah, I bet. Your sense of humour is predictable." I smirked. " _Purr_ edictable? I think you're just very _familiar_ with me. Like a witch and a black cat." He compared.

"Are you calling me a witch?" I fake-gasped. "M'lady, do I need to _spell_ it out for you?" I joked. "No, kitty, but I will _curse_ the day we met." I decided to indulge him for a bit. "A _magical_ night it was indeed." He agreed. "Well my fairy godmother at least gave me a longer curfew." I snorted. "I'm pretty sure the spell never wore off." He indirectly complimented. "Flirt." I chastised. "One of the more pleasant insults to be called, I'm sure." He chuckled. "You haven't given me enough reason to call you anything worse." I shrugged. Once again, there was silence.

"Talk to you later, Chat, kay?" I suggested. "Sure." He responded simply. "Go get dressed." I laughed at the strangled noise that came from his end. "How did you know?" He sounded embarassed, it was surpringly adorable, him, getting flustered over such a small thing. "Kitty, two words : bed voice." I giggled. "That was a while ago." He excused himself. "Yes, it was a long time ago, I'm surprised you never got up from the bed." I chuckled at another surprised noise. "What gave it away?" He asked, his voice wavering a little. I could get used to teasing Chat, it was fun. Enough for today though. "Mattresses squeak, phones pick it up, your line has been quiet aside from those awful puns of yours." I smiled. "Hey, my puns are not _claw_ ful." He protested. "Any particular reason why you still haven't gotten up?" I asked. "If you were waiting for me to say that the weight of my love is pulling me down, you'll have to be disappointed. Plagg has made himself a bed in my lap and it's very rare that he in a good enough mood to let me pet him." He admitted defeatedly. "Okay, Catsanova, just don't be late for class." I giggled. "What did you call me?" He askedand. "Send me your address." I laughed before hanging up.

I refilled Tikki's water bottle, dry food as well as a pet on her head with my index finger. I opened the hatch and descended the ladder into the hall. I walked down the stairs to the kitchen. "Marinette, you're back." Maman said with a smile. "It's not like I was gone or anything." I dismissed. "I know, but when you're talking to that boy it's like in your own world." She said and my cheeks elt warm. "Maman!" I whined. I walked past her to grab myself a glass and fill it with tap water. I turned around and leaned back aginst the counter, sipping the liquid. "How are the lectures?" Maman tgurned to me with a cup of what I could assume was tea in her cup. "It's been going great. At first I thought that the History of Fashion classes were going to be the worst of the bunch, but the are really inspiring." I gushed over to her. "I admit that Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne is quite a mouthful when someone asks me where I am studying, but I wouldn't have it any other way." I smiled and she smiled back. "I'm glad, dear. Sometimes it's hard to know what you want to do at such a young age, but I'm glad you have a passion you can pursue." Maman said and I hugged her with one arm, cup still in the other. "You know I wouldn't be able to do it without your and Papa's support." I said still in the embrace. "I'm really glad to have the best parents in the world."I whispered. "Okay, dear, we do not need to be getting sappy today." She said, patting me on the back. "It must be the hormones." I joked and we chuckled.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we get the brief summary of our neighbourhood cat's backstory. It ain't going to be all sunshines and rainbows. So, buckle up for some Angst!drien up in the house. Yee haw everyone and let's get this show on the road.

"Wait, you're 21, how are you finishing university this year? I thought it takes 4 years to get a degree." I queried. "It usually does, but I'm special." He chuckled at the end which gave him joking away. "So?" I prompted. "I'm doing my course in three years." He explained. "No shit Sherlock." I cursed and he gasped clearly. "Princess, watch your language." He sounded offended even though I knew it was just a facade. "Spill. The. Beans. Mister." I requested. "Okay. Okay." He repeated and I could imagine him putting his hands up in surrender. I smiled in victory. "I started my freshman year earlier than most people, during the summer. The tuition is cheaper and I really wanted to get away from my fa-" He stopped himself short and then covered it up with playing it off as a stutter. "family house." He finished with something he clearly did not intend to.

"Listen, Chat, I know you're not really eager to talk about it, but it's come up a few times now. Do you want to talk about your family situation?" I asked him and I heard him heave a sigh. "Yeah, I should." He admitted. "No, Chat, you shouldn't-" I protested and he butted in. "What do you want, woman?" He let his frustration out. "I want you to be happy, but I also don't want you to force yourself to do something you're not ready for." I replied strongly. Another sigh escaped him.

"You're right, I mean, thank you, for caring." He avoided the issue. "Kitty..." I trailed off, a small sigh this time. "I do need to get this off my chest. Besides, you deserve to know." I opened my mouth, but he continued. "Don't stop me, you do. Things always get awkward when it comes up and I'm grateful that you've never pushed it. It's never going to be the right time, so what I'm saying is : I'm as ready as I'll ever be." He braced himself. It was like I was hearing a self-pep-talk. I waited patiently for him to start.

"I had quite a happy childhood, I guess, comparing to the rest of my life. Maybe aside from my absent father, it's not like he wasn't home, he was almost always, but he was never available, which honestly felt even worse. He was always there for meals or when mom returned home. He finally came out of his office and sometimes we would play. Those were the good times. I told you I was homeschooled. I spent most of my days in my room, tutors coming in and out of the door. It never bothered me much, because there was nothing else I could do since I was not allowed to leave the ma-main building. My mother was my best friend, she understood, she was always there for me. Until she wasn't." He stopped and I didn't have the heart to encourage him forward, whatever he told me was going to be his decision, he could stop whenever he wanted.

"One day, she just didn't come back. There...there was a car accident and she landed into a coma,  I was just happy she survived. I was fourteen at the time, I didn't realise what it all would mean. I came back home with my father. You would think that maybe he would change, that maybe our bond would tighten since we only had each other for comfort." His sentence drifted off. Things were silent for a little while as I mulled his words over.

"It didn't, it never has. It's only gotten worse from that point on. Actually it had been in an unfluctuating state of bad after the first week or so. He never came to meals anymore. His assistant said he would, but every time he flaked on me. After some time I stopped expecting him to come. Mom's state didn't get better either. If I was Hamlet, my room would be Denmark." He snorted at the last sentence, letting his frustration out. "My favourite book actually. I never felt more connected to a fictional character than at the time of Hamlet's monologue. My room was my prison, I was not allowed to leave. Didn't stop me from sneaking out at night. Not really going anywhere, just going out into the garden. Highlight of my adolescence. Kind of sad, I guess." He offered half-heartedly. I was too shocked to speak, so I just sat there stunned into silence. "Four years went by in a blur. Once I turned 18, I decided to apply for Berkely. It wasn't an Ivy League school, but I didn't care. I'm sure father was as happy as I was to finally have me out of the house. It was like I was changing boarding schools. At least now he didn't have to make excuses for not showing up now that I was going to be living in a different country, continent even." He summed up. The weight of his words combined with the bitterness in his voice made my heart ache for him.

"So I left just before the summer, so I could get out of there. My father sent in the money for the tuition every month, so the money I saved on summer courses I put into a savings account, so I guess I have that going for me if all else fails." He joked to lighten the mood, but I was not having any of it.

"Okay, I get it. Not the time for joking. Well, that's enough for Catching up with the Ag-" He coughed. "Agonising life of Yours Truly." He finished and I was too taken aback by all the information to respond.

"I know it's a lot to take in and some of it sounds...well, surreal, but I hope you know I wouldn't lie to you about something like that." He added.

"Yeah, so we're in the present now. Graduation is in a few months and I will have to start preparing my valedictorian speech." My brain hurt from all the processing, there was this white noise and an absolute void of thoughts. Suddenly they just all spasmed together and a logorrhea just came out. Like a few sentences created in my mind all at once and so fast that I couldn't repeat a single one of them.

"Wait." I said and put the phone down on the bed and clicked the speaker icon. This temple massaging needed to be done with two hands. "You're the valedictorian?" I questioned. "That's right." He confirmed. "How? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you I really am but it's just how do you do all this. You go to one of the most prestigious universities in the world, work a part time job, live on your own, you talk to me everyday, and now you're telling me that you're also excelling at school so much that you were chosen as the valedictorian. When do you have time to relax?" The words just left my mouth.

"I'm relaxing when I'm with you."He replied with what I could tell a smile. "We play video games." He commented. "Not always." I countered. "Yeah and when we're not I actually get some work done." He chuckled.

"How do you balance things?" I asked him. This guy had too much on his plate. "I have to admit my social life has been suffering the brunt of it, but that's not anything new." He snorted. "You know, I probably shouldn't stick my nose into your life, but you should probably talk to a psychologist about all that." I added. "My social life?" He questioned, though  I suspected he got the gist of what I was saying. "Well, everything, it would be best to get things off your chest." I advised. "But I just did." He countered and I sighed. "Okay, Chat, I won't push." I replied, it's not like I could physically go and force him to see a professional.

"Can we change the subject?" He suggested. "Well, then, Megamind, propose away." I challenged and he gasped loudly. "Geez, Mari, I'm not going to propose, I haven't even taken you out first. IK thought you had standards." He playfully poked fun at me. Okay, two could play this game. "Bold of you to assume I would accept." I smirked confidently. "Ouch." He winced. "Oh? Did I just hurt your ego? Or was it your pride?" My smirk curled into a smile. "I think you just brutally murdered my hopes and dreams." He replied. "Quadruple kill then." I smiled.

"Hey, you play LoL?" He asked. "Haven't in a while, but yeah, I still have it installed." I replied. "Wanna queue up with me?" Chat offered. "Yeah, sure, don't you dare take Zarya from me." I threatened. "Wouldn't dream of it, I'm too attached to my Rekkan anyway." He smirked. "So, I take it we're going bot?" I surmised. "Absolutely, my lady."

* * *

 "Wow, we killed it." I commented after we destroyed the nexus. "Yeah, more like you killed them." He smirked. "Hey! I wouldn't be able to do that without my support." I hoped he knew how much he helped. I thought for a moment. "Hey, how good is your Varus?" I queried with a smile. "It's good. Why?" He asked. "I have a comp I'd like to try." I grinned, thinking about my strategy.

"Ezrael, Varus bot lane?" He questioned and I just smiled. "It worked in the LCK, why shouldn't it for us?" I quipped back. "Oh, I don't know. They're proffesionals! M'lady they do League for a living." He argued but I encouraged him to lock it in.

"See? Who said that you can't carry on support?" I beamed at the screen. "I don't think I've ever gotten such a bounty on me ever." He commented and I broke out in a grin. Despite all his jokes, this boy needed all the confidence he could get and I would be there to support him; even though he was technically the support in this scenario.

"I think this is my peak in life." He commented happily and I snorted. "What're you laughing about? There's only one way to go from here and it's downhill." This was my tipping point and I burst out laughing. How can he say all that with a straight face? This is his peak, not school, but popping off in LoL? I swear Chat was something else.

 

 


End file.
